As many of you know, my recent thoughts about contraception sparked an enormous amount of aversion, controversy, and even anger. While this was not something that I intended, neither was it something that necessarily surprised me. I am aware that my position on this fundamental matter, which I unapologetically share with the Catholic Church, is unpopular. I realize that most people do not, and often will not, accept it.
But I also know that my pursuit is truth, with the aim of establishing those ideals which serve the highest satisfaction of the human person. If one thinks my aim to be otherwise, he is mistaken.
What I must do now is defend that which I profess to be true. Because good reasons exist for my beliefs, it is only right that I share those reasons with those who have demanded them of me. Those reasons are rooted in natural law, which is not contingent upon a profession of any particular faith or a belief in any particular God, but rather upon our common humanity and quest for fulfillment.
It is my intent to address each dissent thrown before me and to share each reason with you in the coming days. Thank you for your thoughts and for allowing me to share mine as we move forward in our common journey.
Vita Pro Omni!
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI do admire how you so strongly believe what you are saying. I, too, believe very strongly in what I have said previously. However, our beliefs are very different. In the end, that is what they are. Beliefs. My issue is that you present your beliefs as truth. There are far too many belief systems in the world for one to be completely true.
It is awesome that you can believe so strongly in something. But please understand that you cannot possible prove your beliefs to be the ultimate truth. Essentially, you are saying "I'm right and everyone else who doesn't agree with me is wrong" and that is a very arrogant thing to say. Beliefs are not truth. I cannot say that my beliefs are the ultimate truth. I really hope you will see that beliefs and truths are not the same. Unless you can somehow prove that you do hold the ultimate truth, please refrain from presenting them as such.
Hi, Ally!
ReplyDeleteI know we have talked a bit one-on-one via messaging, but I wanted to address your concern here, as well, since others share your disapproval regarding the way I have presented my views on contraception.
We may disagree on quite a bit, but I do completely respect you and want your voice, too, to be heard on my blog. If my passion for my position comes across as arrogance to you, I apologize that it makes you feel offended, angry, etc. The problem is, there are things that we state as facts all the time that no one can "prove," such as, "It is wrong to torture toddlers for fun." Now, is that a fact I can prove? Not exactly. So is it technically an opinion? Perhaps. But I can be pretty darn sure that that is a better opinion than the opinion that torturing them is okay, and for that reason, can reasonably make definitive statements about the matter. In the same way, I am pretty darn sure that my opinion regarding contraception is correct. Can I prove it? Not exactly. But I can give valid reasons that lead me to believe that that opinion is correct, which is what I hope to do/ continue to do in my writing. (Of course, no matter what I say, many will still disagree with me; I realize that.)
It is good to grapple with these kinds of issues and look at them from many perspectives, angles, etc., but eventually, it seems we have to decide which opinions are good and which are not so good, as it is quite hard to maintain that all opinions are equally legitimate (i.e. that torturing toddlers is just as good as not torturing toddlers).
I think what you are suggesting to be true, ultimately, is moral relativism. I do not want to assume that anyone does or doesn't know very much about it, but I will simply link you to a previous post
(http://vitaproomni.blogspot.com/2010/03/moral-relativism-feet-firmly-planted-in.html) on my blog in case you want to read more.
Thanks, Ally.